


you want hollywood, this is real life

by tsungnami



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - 1950s, Alternate Universe - Actors, Alternate Universe - Hollywood, Angst, Bad Parenting, Comfort, Drinking, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Gay Panic, Homophobia, Hurt, Internalized Homophobia, Leather Jackets, M/M, Minor Original Character(s), Period-Typical Homophobia, Platonic Relationships, Slow Burn, Smoking, Strangers to Lovers, Summer
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-16
Updated: 2020-10-16
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:55:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27044608
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tsungnami/pseuds/tsungnami
Summary: jisung is an aspiring actor, hoping to break into the hollywood scene. except "aspiring" and "hoping" are as far as it goes - he's not a very good actor, and he certainly doesn't have the money or the status to buy his way in. he's utterly hopeless.that is, until he meets lee minho. he has all that jisung doesn't: money, fame, and talent. maybe if he asks nicely enough, minho will share some of his attributes with him, right?unfortunately for jisung, dreams prove to be harder to achieve in real life than they do on the silver screen.
Relationships: Han Jisung | Han/Lee Minho | Lee Know, Hwang Hyunjin/Lee Felix, Kim Seungmin/Seo Changbin
Kudos: 3





	you want hollywood, this is real life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey y'all!
> 
> i'm hattie, this is my first work on here and as you would expect it is entirely necessary that i begin my ao3 journey with skz! this fic was based off a song i heard called hollywood (surprise, surprise) by jukebox the ghost, so if you want to go listen to it, i'd definitely recommend doing so.
> 
> this fic is relatively light-hearted, although there are a few instances of homophobia so if that is triggering for you, this is your warning. there isn't nearly enough racism to be the 1950s but 1) the fic probably wouldn't have worked otherwise and 2) as someone who has never experienced racism, i found that it isn't my place to tell those stories. however, as a queer woman, i have experienced homophobia, so the way it will be presented in this fic is based on my own perception of what i have gone through.
> 
> other than that, it's insanely gay and, let's be real, probably a projection of my internalised issues (oof). i hope you enjoy reading!
> 
> all the love, 
> 
> tsungnami :D

Han Jisung wasn't a failure.

He wasn't. If anyone tried to tell him that he was, he would simply reply by smashing his fist into their mouth or, perhaps, the less violent option of insulting them back.

To him, the word 'failure' was an insult, which is why he worked as hard as he could to be successful in his dreams. Despite coming from a poor, working-class family, he knew was going to be so successful that 'failure' was personally repelled by him and no one would dare to even speak the word in his presence.

Han Jisung wasn't a failure, but being surrounded by a pile of nothing but rejection letters sure as hell made him feel like one.

Changbin found him cross-legged on the floor of their living room, swamped in envelopes and sheets of paper. Jisung had never been the most normal of friends, even less so of a roommate, but he'd never quite seen anything like this. 

"Letters from all your secret admirers?" he quipped. Jisung almost jumped out of his skin, dropping he letter in his hand. He glanced up to see Changbin leaning against the door-frame, coated head to toe in grime. 

"I wish," Jisung replied, and resumed his previous activity. His eyes scanned the page in his hands, skimming over the four paragraphs until they settled on the words 'deny', 'sorry' and 'best wishes for the future'--all of which were becoming increasingly familiar to him. He sighed and threw the letter behind him. 

"You're not half making a mess, are you, Sung?" Changbin scolded and Jisung rolled his eyes as he moved on to the next letter.

"You're not much better," he replied, although he was partly distracted by his other activity, "I feel like a housewife with all the deep cleaning I have to do. Can you not take a shower before you get your grease everywhere?"

Changbin moved to collect the discarded letters, ruffling Jisung's hair on the way. He barely reacted, used to such gestures. "If you don't want to be my housewife, maybe try getting a job."

It was a low blow, they both knew it. If it were anyone else, Jisung would have destroyed them there and then, but it was Changbin--he knew that the boy, who had been nothing but supportive of them since the day they met, didn't really mean it.

Nevertheless, Jisung glared in Changbin's direction, eyes following him as he swiped the letters up in his arms and dumped them in their kitchen bin. "If I get a job, will you shower more often?"

"Perhaps," he replied, grinning as he leaned against their small, circular dining table. "I thought you opened all those already."

Jisung groaned, momentarily ignoring Changbin as he tossed another letter in his direction. Changbin failed to catch it, but he blamed it on Jisung's awful athleticism rather than his own.

"Yeah, I did. Turns out there aren't as many agencies in L.A as I thought."

"So you ran out of people to apply to?"

Jisung nodded, ripping open another envelope that he must have missed before. "It was either that or I run out of stamps."

"Or money to buy stamps," Changbin pointed out and dodged as a ball of paper flew his way. "Money that your best friend very kindly lends to you."

Jisung didn't reply. He lingered on this particular letter, eyes flicking back up to the top every time they reached the bottom. Changbin cleared his throat. "Look, Jisung," he said, voice full of a seriousness that hadn't been present before, "I spoke to my boss today. I know it's not what you want to do but he said he can give you a job if you need it. And... and I think you do-"

"Shut up," Jisung interrupted.

"Excuse me?"

"Shut up!" Jisung jumped to his feet, letter clutched in his hands and a grin breaking through his face like sun rays through grey clouds. He bounded over to Changbin and handed him the letter. When Changbin looked at him quizzically, he pointed at the page and demanded, "Read it!"

Quirking an eyebrow, Changbin did as he said. Jisung watched eagerly, practically vibrating with excitement.

"The Rising Stars Agency would be pleased to take you on as one of our actors," he read. 

"Isn't that great?"

Jisung was expecting a hug from Changbin, a proud smile or even a 'congratulations' at least . What he got was nothing of the sort. Instead, Changbin frowned. "Sung, there's a problem."

He didn't say anything in return, just snatched the letter out of Changbin's hands and skimmed the page for what Changbin could possibly be referring to. Had he read it wrong? Was it actually a rejection? No, that couldn't be possible--

And then he spotted it. Right at the bottom of the paper, in printed text, were the words he'd so stupidly missed in his fervour. 

'Your confirmation letter must be returned to the agency by 18:00 on the 14th July.'

"I'm sorry," Changbin said from behind him, but Jisung wasn't listening. He checked his watch; the time was 17:32, which meant he had roughly half an hour before the deadline. Changbin bent his head forward to catch Jisung's eye. "What are you thinking about? You're scaring me."

Jisung glanced back down at the letter, then back at him. "Where's 23 Hawthorne Avenue?"

Changbin's face scrunched up, the way it often did when he was deep in thought. "23 Hawthorne Avenue... Oh, that's right behind my work. Not far from- Jisung what are you doing?"

Jisung didn't respond but, to be fair, it wasn't really a question that needed to be answered. With one hand clutching the letter and the other desperately pulling a loafer on as he hopped around the room, it was fairly obvious what he was doing.

"Chasing my dreams!" he said finally, both shoes now on.

Changbin pinched the bridge of his nose. "Jisung, those are my shoes."

But Jisung was already out of the door, not bothering to shut it. "Sorry, no time!" He shouted over his shoulder. Changbin watched as he sprinted down the corridor and eventually disappeared.

++

Jisung was positive he'd never run so fast (and so far, mind you) in his life. His body was positive of that too, if his heaving chest and flushed cheeks meant anything. 

The sound of Changbin's shoes slamming against the tarmac slowed to a halt as Jisung approached the agency. From the outside, it appeared to be a run-down shop. The only thing that stood out from the grimy glass windows, battered brick and chipped paint was the garish, neon sign hanging above the front door, brandishing the name of the agency: 'Rising Stars', with a bright yellow shooting star underneath. 

Jisung took a deep breath in equal parts nervousness and exhaustion. Hands clasping the letter, he nudged the front door open and stepped inside.

The interior was a lot more modern and a lot less decrepit than the outside. A shoe-box room, that was made smaller by the red linen armchairs on one side and a rectangular, wooden desk on the other, had another door opposite to the front entryway. The carpet was the kind of canary yellow that made Jisung's head spin, and he wasn't even sure if it was supposed to be yellow or if it was due to old age--but one look at the blue-painted walls told him that it was intentional, and that the owner clearly had a thing for primary colours.

No one was sitting at the desk. The entire agency was silent, for that matter, although Jisung could hear the faint clacks of a typewriter nearby. He strolled up to the desk, where there was a silver bell, picked it up and shook it from side to side.

Not much sound was emitted from the small bell, so Jisung wasn't surprised when no one emerged from the door. He rung it again, this time with more strength. The faint clacks halted suddenly. Jisung held his breath and prepared himself to ring the bell again, but before he could, the handle to the door pushed downwards and a freckled face peeked out from behind it.

The boy--who Jisung thought of as such because he looked as though he couldn't have been much older than 15--broke into a grin, eyes curling up into crescent moons. He shut the door behind him and crossed the room to eagerly shake Jisung's hand. "Hello! Are you here to apply?"

"Uh, no, I already have," Jisung said, his hand still locked in the boy's forceful grip, "I'm actually here to confirm my application."

"Oh! Do you have a letter?"

Both hands now free, Jisung waved the letter in the air. The boy took it from him and his eyes scanned the page for a brief moment before the smile returned to his face. "Han Jisung, correct? It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too." Jisung bowed his head in greeting, hoping that the boy wouldn't crush his hand again. "It says you have to send a confirmation letter but I- I didn't receive this until recently, so I was wondering if I could just... confirm in person."

The boy nodded emphatically. Everything he did was over the top, yet shy and gentle at the same time. So open and vulnerable, Jisung could practically see his heart beating on the sleeve of his blazer. "Of course. We'd need to invite you in another day for an interview, but-"

He cut himself off as the door behind him swung open. Out stepped a short, pudgy man, wearing an un-tucked shirt and stained slacks and squinting despite the glasses balanced on his nose. 

"Who is this, Felix?"

The boy--Felix--faltered for a moment, then turned to the man with his previous toothy grin. "This is Han Jisung, Father. One of our applicants."

With a throaty cough, the man hobbled through the room until he was standing next to Felix. He outstretched his hand and Jisung took it--the man didn't shake hands with as much enthusiasm as Felix did. "Nice to meet you, I'm Mr. Lee. This is my agency. So you want to be a star, correct?"

"Yes, sir. I do."

"That's good to hear."

"I plan to arrange an interview for him next week," Felix interrupted.

Mr. Lee waved his hand in dismissal. "No, no, no, that won't be necessary."

Jisung's heart dropped into his stomach, the way it often did when he got another rejection letter, or when Changbin wasn't home from a night out at the time he said he would be. He checked the clock, ticking idly on the wall to his left. It wasn't even six o'clock yet. He hadn't missed the deadline. Was this really it? He had just stepped on the path to success, had gone to great lengths to do so, and now, all of a sudden, this man had decided that they didn't want to accept him anymore. Jisung went to protest, to beg the man to take him on, but when he observed Mr. Lee's face, he found no traces of malice.

"I can see you're worried, my boy. You've probably had your fair share of rejection, yes?"

Jisung nodded, then said, "Yes, sir."

Mr. Lee chuckled. "Hollywood is not an easy world to break into, but hopefully I can help you with chipping the ice away just enough for you to slither in. How do you feel about working tomorrow?"

Jisung perked up at this, eyes blowing wide. At Mr. Lee's side, Felix straightened too. "Without an interview?" He asked. Jisung had been wondering the exact same thing.

"Yes, without an interview." He faced Felix. "Is that alright with you?"

To be honest, it didn't seem like much of a joint decision by the way Mr. Lee's eyes darkened, as if he dared Felix to challenge him. Felix understood this too, and nodded in submission. "Yes, it's fine. Just... why?"

"Hwang quit this morning."

Felix gaped at him. "Him? Why?"

Jisung suddenly felt out of the loop, confused as to who this Hwang person was, and why they were both so distraught at his absence. But it appeared that his unspoken questions were not to be answered any time soon.

Mr. Lee turned back to Jisung with a smirk. "You're in, kid! There's a few free spaces as a background artist that I think you'd be perfect for. So, what about tomorrow?"

"I'd love to," Jisung said, heart swelling. "What's the production?"

"Good question. Felix, go and retrieve the file for me, will you? It's in my desk drawer." Felix scurried off in the direction of the door. Mr. Lee continued, "It's called The Waning Moon," he said, swiping his palm through the hair as he spoke the name, as if to exaggerate it's extravagance.

But he didn't need to. As an aspiring actor, Jisung was more than up to date on the current movies and productions, on the biggest agencies and, by extension, the most famous (and talented) actors. The Waning Moon was a production that was at the top of every one of those lists, and for Jisung to be a part of it, even as an extra, was a massive step.

"Keep your mouth shut, boy, or else a bird will build her nest in there," Mr. Lee scolded and, in response, Jisung snapped his jaw shut. 

Unable to contain his excitement, he opened it almost immediately after. "Is... is that the production directed by Lee Minhyuk?"

He didn't need Mr. Lee's confirmation to know that he was right, but he waited for it anyway. When Mr. Lee nodded with a hint of distaste, Jisung gasped. Then, upon remembering his words, pressed his lips together firmly.

"A big first step, but one that you must take."

Felix emerged from the back room then with a pile of papers, attached together by a paperclip, clutched in his small hands. He passed it to Jisung with a grin. 

"That contains everything you need to know." Mr. Lee poked his finger at the paper. "We have your contact details and everything else we need from you, so just make sure you turn up tomorrow."

"Don't worry, I will."

"Good." Mr. Lee nodded his head in Jisung's direction, then ambled away without even so much as a goodbye. 

When the door shut behind him, Felix sent Jisung a smile. "Congratulations. Even if we'd have done the interview, you definitely would have been accepted anyway. Good luck for tomorrow!"

Jisung thanked him, bowing gratefully. With one last final goodbye and a smile he was positive would last him till the end of time, Jisung ducked out of the agency and walked home, blinded by the stars in his eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so there you have it, chapter 1 of this gay mess (the gay mess in question being han jisung). you've got some platonic love between changbin and jisung of which there will be more, as well as smiley felix! and yes, the chapter names are based off constellations because jisung is going to be a star (or is he...)

**Author's Note:**

> here are my socials if you're interested:
> 
> instagram: @singsungie  
> tumblr: @marigoldmoonn and @two-racha (where i write with my friend eva)


End file.
